Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Cairo (Agenzia Fides) - The visit to Egypt by Abuna Mathias I, Patriarch of the Orthodox Church of Ethiopia ended on 16 January. In the six-day stay in Egypt, the Primate of the Church of Ethiopia - who had been invited by Coptic Orthodox Patriarch Tawadros II - was also received by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and the Grand Imam of al-Azhar Ahmed al Tayyeb. During the talks with the President and other political authorities Abuna Mathias was able to discuss the future of the Great Renaissance Dam with his interlocutors, the massive hydraulic work on the Nile which was begun by Ethiopia and criticized by Egypt. In the press conference held at the conclusion of the visit, Abuna Mathias invited experts and politicians to "do their job" on the controversial issue, trusting in the ability to find common solutions through dialogue. In the meeting with the Ethiopian Patriarch on Monday, January 13, even President al-Sisi had recalled the need to find political solutions to preserve the rights of both Countries in the use of water resources of the Nile.
The visit of the Patriarch of the Orthodox Church of Ethiopia Mathias fulfills the project - long advocated by many – of an "ecclesial mediation" to contribute to easing tension between Egypt and Ethiopia on the issue of the dam. A visit to Egypt of the Patriarch of Ethiopia, already scheduled in June 2013 (when the Egyptian government was controlled by the Muslim Brotherhood) had been canceled at the last moment. Egyptians fear that the project of the great Ethiopian dam may have negative impact on the volume of the waters of the Nile.
The visit of Patriarch Mathias also had ecclesial implications, marking an important step in overcoming past disagreements between the two Churches.
The Orthodox Church of Ethiopia was jurisdictionally bound to the Coptic Patriarchate of Alexandria until 1959, year when it was recognized as autocephalous Church from the Coptic Patriarch Cyril VI. "Patriarch Tawadros" refers to Agenzia Fides Anba Antonios Aziz Mina, Coptic Catholic Bishop of Guizeh "said he was happily impressed by the words of unity and communion from Abuna Matthias. The Patriarch of Ethiopia repeated Jesus’ words according to whom man cannot separate what God has joined, usually related to marriage, and applied to the relations between the two Churches, thus reaffirming the full unity between the Orthodox Church of Ethiopia and the Coptic Church". (GV) (Agenzia Fides 17/01/2015)
